O.K. lets face it I’m not a “blogger”. I get started but always seem to run a muck after a short span.  I do however want to update this so that those not associated closely with our church can know a little bit about our progress.  First off I want to say this week we are in Revival services with Rev. John Ritcheson Jan 8-13 with nightly services at 7 p.m.  So far attendance has been great and people are really hungry for a move of God.  Last night Bro. John said that he felt this would be more of an “Awakening” than just a revival.  I do feel a certain amount of expectation this year unlike anything I have ever felt since I have been in ministry.  The first 21 days of the New Year we have a corporate fast at Living Hope.  This is a time that we separate time to seek God and His will for our lives.  We pray for souls, we pray for direction, we pray for humility that He might lift us up.  Though fasting is never easy this fast has seemed to come with extra strength both physically and spiritually. Fasting during Revival is such an encouragement, because I know that my prayers are on a higher plane than before.  There is no doubt God is up to something in the city of Baytown , but the truth is I really believe our congregation will  play a significant role in what He is doing.

As for the church building we are still praying and believing to move back in Easter Sunday April 8th.  The building is coming along well and we have been able to incorporate some improvements in the renovation that I know are going to be a great blessing.  The addition of a perimeter fence around our property makes it look so much more like a campus, and because we have dreams and visions of so much more it really will be a campus with multiple buildings one day.  If you have not had an opportunity to come to one of our services don’t wait till we get in the new building, come see us now!  God is moving in such a special way you don’t want to miss a life change that is awaiting you today.  Though we will be thrilled to be in the new building we are rejoicing now that God has given us a place to worship and He lets us know each and every week that the church is not a building but His people who make up His body.  May you be greatly blessed!

Love, PK

Living Hope will be having a revival service on JAN 8-13 WITH EVANGELIST JOHN  RITCHESON.
SUNDAY SERVICES 8:45 A.M. and 6:00P.M
WEEKLY SERVICES 7:00 P.M.
COME EXPECTING! ALL ARE WELCOME!
The ravival will be at the NEW JOURNEY FACILITY located at 8200 NORTH MAIN, BAYTOWN, TX

Tomorrow we begin another day of  demolition and clean up at the church. We invite anyone who would like to come and participate to join hands with us and work towards getting the rest of the  drywall removed from the building. We begin at 6:00 a.m. and will conclude at  noon with lunch. I was very pleased with our Labor Day weekend cleanup that we were able to get so much done, I feel that 2 more good days should put us in  position to do our complete evaluation of the tructure damage and finalize our  building material list.

As I think about our workday and the things that happened to us, I am reminded about those who have suffered in much bigger ways by the wild fires that are plaguing so many Texas counties. Hundreds of homes have been lost and thousands of families have been displaced and many of them with just the clothes on their backs and a few personal items. Our state as well as many others in the Northeast who are suffering because of floods needs our prayers and God’s intervention.

In addition to the emotions of these terrible fires, today I viewed several pictures from 9/11 and was overwhelmed with the feelings of that day 10 years ago. I’m sure if you are older that 16 or so you remember exactly where you were when you heard about the attacks. I was pulling into our old church parking lot where I was preparing for a day of painting, when KSBJ announced that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. Inside the church we had a small black and white T.V. in the fellowship hall it only got 3 channels but I turned it on anyway and as I was watching one of the local Houston channels I saw the second plane hit the South tower. I heard the newscaster say “this is no accident” I immediately turned off the T.V. and went straight home to tell my wife; before I could get into our neighborhood I heard that a plane had also hit the Pentagon. I knew at that moment our country was under attack. My wife went to the school to bring our girls home. There is
something about tragedy that just makes you draw closer to those you love. Even though they were very young (5 & 6) they watched the T.V. with us and witnessed the fall of the towers. Millions of Americans watched in horror and disbelief perhaps with the same question on their mind, “how could this happen?” Many people have a hard time watching the footage again but I think it is almost necessary in order for us to remember. To remember that this world is a dangerous place and that there are many who hate the freedoms that we have as Americans. The war on terror goes on and ultimately only God will be able to bring an end to the violence and bring lasting peace. But until then we must keep sharing the message of Hope that comes through Jesus Christ the true “Prince of Peace”.

God Bless,

Pastor Kevin

Greetings again, I guess it’s obvious that this is not a “daily” blog! This week we will be preparing for a big work day at the church. The building has been released for demolition so we will begin the difficult job of removing sheet rock and damaged structure (which is quite a bit). Someone asked me if I knew this Saturday was a holiday weekend and I replied, “Yes it’s called Labor Day!” It is obvious at this time that the damage is extensive and the work of demolition will be a major hurdle. Many in the community have asked to be notified when demolition would begin so that they could be a part of the cleanup. I will be sending out an email to BAMA (Bay Area Ministers Alliance) letting them know that we are beginning this Saturday. Unfortunately this type of work is not for everyone, we are not excluding anyone but suggesting that whoever comes be healthy and able to do manual labor. Even though we start very early the building gets hot very quickly so we have to use caution. If you would like to be a part of our clean up efforts we will begin work at 6:00 a.m. and go till noon. You will need to bring gloves, loose-fitting clothing and work shoes or boots. We will provide ice water but you may bring any extra drinks or snacks, a lunch will be provided for all volunteers. We look forward to a safe day and getting much done towards our rebuild if you have any additional questions call the church office at 281-383-3878.

Be blessed, Pastor Kevin

Back in the saddle again, is what I feel today doing this little piece, with a summer vacation behind me and school approaching things have been quite busy to say the least.  On some aspects so much has happened since July, we are getting settled into our new space at the New Journey church and for some of us even getting settled into our new service times.  I still can’t stop referring to our mid-week service as Wednesday night even though it is on Tuesday and the 8:45 worship is really interesting. 

You tend to get a“bird’s eye view” from the pulpit of who is considered a“morning person” and who is not; or at the least who stayed out late!  But overall I have been so impressed with how our people continue to worship the Lord with such enthusiasm.  It is truly a blessing to actually have to struggle with the thought of which do I want to do more preach this message that’s burning in my heart or continue worshipping in song.  Needless to say for the most part we work in both even if the time frame keeps us from lingering as long as we would like. 

As I write this we are still in negotiations with the insurance on our building and contents settlement so the clean up has basically come to a halt, however in the next day or two we expect the building to be released for demolition.  Hopefully by the first weekend in September we can start some full fledged volunteer Saturday workdays and get busy on the rebuilding process.  So much to do but we know our God is leading the way. 

This past week there are 3 themes that keep coming up in my devotions and meditations, the first one is humility and being humble before God, do we recognize that pride is an instant ticket “out” of the presence of God?  Many do not realize that God does not just “dislike” pride He hates it.  The pride of man is something that causes God to “vacate” so if you want to walk with God you better learn humility.  The second thing is praise, not just the superficial kind but the kind that says to God “I trust you even when things are bad”.  Praise is never at its fullest until our circumstances turn negative, this is when that sacrifice of praise comes into play and God is drawn to our situation.  The third thing that I have been dwelling on is God’s loveespecially in regards to the Prodigal son in Luke 15 where God is depicted as running to the wayward son as he drew near to his Father’s house. 

 If you have never heard the song from Phillips, Craig and Dean “When God Ran” you need to youtube it today and listen to it!  It still brings tears to my eyes and I have heard it for years.  I pray all of you have a blessed week I know this Sunday is going to be incredible and I can’t wait to see what God will do!

God Bless,

Pastor Kevin

Here I am again, sorry for the delay but it has been harder than I thought to keep up with this blog considering everything that is going on. Our first Tuesday evening service went well and it is a blessing to have the space to continue our classes. I am teaching from the book of 2 Peter, it has been a joy to teach. On Tuesday we were in chapter 2 and studied the warning of Peter about false teachers that had entered the church subtlety and had introduced teachings that were causing Christians to stumble in their faith. The rest of the week we have been working on getting our offices up and running, so far everything is going well and by this Monday the church office should be back on track. The highlight of this week was the work day that took place early this morning through early afternoon. It was a somewhat last minute decision to have the work day since our building was only recently released. We had a good turnout of our people as well as a great group from Old River Baptist who brought some really hard working youth as well as adults. I consider Pastor Danny Biddy a friend of mine and today he and his congregation showed the love of Christ to us in a very tangible way. We got so much work done I could hardly believe it. We still have many things that have to be cleaned and put into storage and much upstairs that just needs to be thrown away. I will make sure to post the next community workday on the site so that anyone who wants to can come join us. I am grateful once again to have some very competent men and women who are helping me through this project. I am so excited about what our God is doing!

I pray your weekend is blessed!

PK

Greetings again, today seemed to fly by just like the entire last week. It’s hard to believe that the fire was one week ago already. Yesterday was our first service in our new location at New Journey Church . I must say the early service time was quite different, but I was excited to see so many there at 8:45 a.m. There are always going to be differences when you move into a new venue, the sound is different and over all so is the atmosphere. As always the worship was really good and the Spirit of the Lord was so real. The excitement level was high (especially so early!) and the smiles on every face were like icing on the cake! I was excited about the message the Lord had put in my heart to share for our first

Sunday it was from Romans 8:35-39 entitled “In All These Things”. How awesome to consider the idea that God’s love for us never changes and because of that we can maintain our love for Him even during “tribulation, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril and sword”. God did not promise that we would have the overwhelming victory “after” the trials but He promised we would have that victory right in the middle of them! I am not waiting months for us to have the victory as a church, no God has promised us that victory right now in the midst of the storm.

It looks like it will still be at least another week before we will be allowed to start demolition and clean up of our facility. There is still so much to do, and to be honest sometimes it is overwhelming, but the key is to not get too focused on the long range and take one day at a time. Our next service is Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. I will be continuing my teaching from the book of 2 Peter which has been a blessing to study and we will also be having the teen and children’s classes. If you do not have a home church we would love to have you come and experience one of our services, you will be loved by a family that truly loves God and people. Once again I want to say what a privilege it is to pastor such a great church that has gone the extra mile to stand with me and love me in the times of testing. God is on our side and He will be glorified!

Be blessed!

Pastor Kevin

Greetings, I wanted to take the opportunity to thank all of the many people who have reached out to our church during this difficult time.  In the early morning hours of July 18th three young men broke into our church and set multiple fires.  At 4:16 a.m. I received a call from a friend of mine who was on his way to work, and saw the church on fire with multiple fire trucks in the parking lot.  I will never forget the tone of his voice and the panic I felt when he told me that the church was on fire.  When I asked if it was bad he hesitated and I knew then it was not good.  Experiencing a fire is a traumatic thing in and of itself but when you have already been through one it is even worse.  Our church at another location had a fire from a construction accident in August of 2003 that devastated our entire building.  Along with all the church contents I lost every sermon I had ever preached, my entire library of over 17 years, my personal pictures and collectibles as well as every Bible I had ever owned except the one I had at home.  When something like that happens it erases so much and there are just things you cannot replace.  For years after that I would panic if I smelled smoke while inside of a building.  Now I am getting the news that our new facility that we were so proud of was being destroyed by flames again.  Why God?  Why fire?  There are always those who will be quick to suspect the worst about a church fire, but what about a pastor who has experienced two?  I knew in my heart that I had no negligence at all in either incident but it’s hard to shake what others might think.

I prayed all the way from my house to the church, asking God for the strength to endure and to be strong for our people.  When I arrived at the church my heart sunk, at least 4 big fire trucks were on the parking lot and smoke was coming from the steeple and every other conceivable crack and crevice of the building.  I saw firemen coming out exhausted with heat and pulling off their suits with cups of sweat dripping from their clothes.  I wanted to lay prostrate on the ground and cry, but something inside of me told me there will be a time to cry but now is not that time.  As daylight approached more and more of our church family began to arrive, some cried while others were seemingly being strong for me.  They say you don’t know who a person is until you see them suffer, and that is true.  I realized more than ever just what kind of people I have been blessed with at Living Hope, people who love God and people who love me. News cameras and reporters began to gather in the Chambers  County parking lot next door to our church, most of the interviews I held my composure but on one occasion I began to break down.

Once the fire was out and the trucks began to pull out the fire marshals and investigators began to gather information.  We had had a break in and vandalism just the Friday before by a youth that we had caught on camera, they were all interested in the surveillance footage but unfortunately it was destroyed by the intruders.  I wanted the person or persons responsible caught and I gave out the description of the teen we had observed on Friday to the media.  The big break came by way of a tip from a nearby neighbor who had observed 3 youth in early morning hours walking down the street of their subdivision holding suspicious items.  This led to a closer look at a nearby residence that led police to 3 young men who confessed to the crime, one 19 year old and two juveniles.  I can tell you that I am grateful they were caught but feel so bad that they chose to throw their lives away with such a hateful act.

Later in the day I went with a fire Marshall inside the building for the first time and was heart broken at the devastation.  Though the fire raged mostly in the upstairs room and attic the smoke damage could be seen and smelled everywhere.  It will still be several more days before the full extent of the damage is known but suffice to say that at least a great deal of the interior along with roof panels and other parts of the structure will have to be rebuilt.

Many pastors offered us their churches as a temporary place of worship, so we had to consider location, time frames available and convenience. For almost 1.5 years we had to worship in the gymnasium of the Baytown YMCA and setting up and taking down was not something I looked forward to.  A good friend and fellow pastor Mike Breaux of New  Journey Church  had just recently relocated to their new facility on 8200 North Main .  They were greatly blessed with this new building and the extra space it provided, they offered us more than we could have asked for including an office for us to use during the week.  We elected to go to an earlier worship time of 8:45 rather than a later one after 12:00 so that our people would have more time left in their day. I know the adjustment will take some time but we are so grateful for a pastor and church that would open up their hearts and their building to help us in our time of need.

It is our prayer that we will soon be able to begin clean up and move forward in the process of rebuilding our church.  We know that what the devil meant for evil God is going to turn around for good.  We are so excited to see what the future holds for our church we have been seeing many souls saved and baptized and believe for many more.  Our goal is not to “survive” until our facility is rebuilt; our belief is that when we move back into our building it will be with more people than when we left!

In order to keep our church family and those who are following our progress informed I will be attempting to keep a daily blog on this site (even if it’s just a paragraph) to keep you up to speed on events and updates.  Our new service times are listed here on the site and we will do our best to keep our calendar current.  God bless you and thank you for visiting our site, stay tuned as each new day will take us one step closer to our destiny.  We appreciate and covet your prayers!

Love,

Pastor Kevin

Welcome to the Blog of Pastor Kevin Kleinhenz of Living Hope Church in Baytown, TX